DESCRIPTION: The long-term goal of this project is to reduce mortality and morbidity from cancer and other diseases by improving the effectiveness of health education through the creation of multimedia materials that enhance life skills development at the middle school level. The specific objectives to accomplish this goal are: 1) to develop a prototype of interactive, life skills-based health education activities on CD-ROM; and 2) to establish their effectiveness at engaging the learner and strengthening specific health-related life skills in order to establish the feasibility of the project. The activities to be developed will be congruent with the national Health Education Standards, and focus on the development and application of life skills (i.e., decision-making, goal-setting, interpersonal communication, analyzing influences, etc.) to specific health content domains. An Advisory Panel of health education experts and two content experts will assure the accuracy and appropriateness of the activities. The multimedia products will be field-tested by assessing students' pre- and post-exposure performance on appropriate test items from the national Health Education Assessment Project sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, compared to the performance of students exposed to traditional textbook presentations. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, the nation's largest health education textbook company at the secondary level, will distribute the multimedia products developed with these funds as part of its Teen Health middle school textbook series.